I've been considering upgrading my stock x brakes to the sport Akebonos. What all would be involved? Would I be able to keep the current calipers or is it a complete replacement? And finally, is it really worth it?

 

For daily driving absolutely not unless you want the looks. I upgraded to stock coupe brakes for appearance reasons, no performance upgrade just bigger rotors and different calipers. Personally I would just upgrade to a better pad/rotor/fluid flush and call it a day.

 

No, you couldn't keep your current calipers.

From a performance perspective, more aggressive pads and fresh fluid would be the biggest bang for your buck. You could firm up the pedal a little more with the Z1 master cylinder brace.

If you're really hammering your brakes repeatedly slowing from triple digits, then yes, the sport brakes would be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

I guess you don't peruse the other forums on this board?

https://www.myg37.com/forums/brakes-...the-cheap.html

 

I misspoke in my second question, I meant to ask if I replaced the calipers would I need to replace the brake rotors and lines. Also would the sport brake calipers make a noticeable difference in stopping power?

 

Yes, you'll need to replace the rotors too as the sport brakes are larger.

On the street, probably not, tires are likely the limiting factor in stopping power. There will be less caliper flex and thus better pedal feel, and they will exhibit less fade under repeated heavy braking.

 

Appreciate the input, love the look of the sport calipers. But I'll probably focus my resources on something with a higher performance payoff for now

 

I have two Infiniti vehicles in my garage, one with sport brakes and one with the regular calipers. The difference in initial feel and overall stopping power is quite dramatic. IMHO, it's worth it.

 

There is less than a 10' difference in 70-0 stopping power between the two brake setups.

2009 Infiniti G37x Coupe ? Instrumented Test ? Car and Driver

2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe Test ? Review ? Car and Driver

The difference in tires, all seasons vs summers, is just as likely to account for the variance as the actual brake hardware.

That's not to say the sport BBK isn't beautiful, and the stiffer calipers undoubtedly offer better pedal feel, but to say there is a dramatic difference seems a bit of a stretch. Unless of course, you're comparing the OE brakes to your current setup

The non-sport brakes can easily haul the car down from 60, 70, or 80 3-5 times without fade. If OP simply wants to improve his stopping power, more aggressive pads and fresh fluid (which should really be bleed every other year anyway) will close the gap to the sport brakes.

It's not like the sport brakes are that great. The stock pads are designed for low dust and noise, not track use. Car and Driver experienced complete fade on their NISMO 370 and put it into a wall.

Z Meets Wall: We Investigate Why the NISMO Z's Brakes Failed at Lightning Lap - Feature - Car and Driver

If you're going to upgrade to the sport BBK and run OE equivalent pads, there really isn't going to be a huge difference in braking power. The benefit to the sport brakes is the vast pad selection, assuming you're willing to put up with some dust.

Tires also play a critical role. All season tires (which I'd assume are what OP runs on a X) aren't going to perform as well as a good summer tires.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/...vs-summer.html

Same size tires, same car, same track, same day, all seasons vs summers showed a 11' stopping advantage in the dry, and a on a wet track, the summers managed 60-0 58' shorter than the all seasons.

 

It ain't a stretch I swear! I drive them back to back as does my wife and if my wife comments on it, it's a dramatic difference. The difference is in feel and modulation which is critically important when trying to brake hard and stay out of ABS lockup. I have admittedly stickier rubber on my car stock vs. stock but the other car has larger, wider tires all around. The pedal feel is just non-existent in comparison with no initial bite and more dead travel. Could be just her car. Who knows. I did contemplate doing a full sport brake swap onto her car. You know, like upgrading my entire brake setup and putting my Sport Akebonos on hers.

As for the tests, different days, weather, location and pavement conditions can all have an affect as well and the variation in stopping distance could be even greater under real-world conditions with a less than fresh setup. The different calipers may also affect pad wear, pad taper and how evenly they leave deposits on the rotors. I don't have any direct evidence the Akebonos are better in that regard but it would make sense. My daily Infiniti before my IPL had the non-sport brakes and I always had issues with pulsation and uneven pad wear.

The C&D lightning lap Nismo is irrelevant unless the OP is going to track the car. Truth be told, I now run Z1 two-piece rotors, braided lines, Motul fluid and Nismo pads with the Akebono calipers with wider tires on Michelin PSS all around. I don't track the car and it's again a pretty big step up from the stock Sport brake setup. I did find the OEM pads did not work as well during the summer months.

Our brakes really need direct airflow to work on the track with upgraded pads and disks. But I do get your point, more aggressive pads will make a positive difference with the non-sport brakes. That'll come with a trade off in disk/pad life, possibly noise and dusting too.

If the OP doesn't do any aggressive driving that taxes the brakes, I do agree, not worth it except for the bling factor.

 

Great info & discussion in this thread.

OP, I'd look into Hawk HPS 5.0 pads (be sure they are the 5.0 version), should be a nice upgrade, drive it that way for a while and if you still feel you want the BBK (we all do, lol) then start stashing cash away

Oh, and am I the only one that noticed that not once in this thread was the word brakes referred to as "breaks"??
Maybe we've turned the corner

 

I did the swap last summer, and it wasn't too hard. Definitely a worthy upgrade, between the looks and performance improvements i would definitely recommend doing it. For a good bang for your buck, the Stoptech Sport pads aren't too expensive and offer a great bite with a medium amount of dust even on the stock braking setup.

 

How are the Stoptech Sports in the wet? The price is great but I heard mixed wet weather reviews. They had been my first choice.

 

I haven't noticed anything negative in the wet, so the performance difference really can't be too extreme. I've had them on for a year and so far so good.

 

Im in the same situation. Two cars one with and one without. There is a definite and significant difference between the two. I like the sport brakes a lot more. The feel is better. Drive a car with the sport brakes and make your own judgment.